David Adams

Ensure that a picture is properly fixed to the wall to prevent it falling, and check that the fittings on the frame can bear the weight. Picture: Getty Images.

When it comes to hanging your precious pictures, framing experts say you can't go past the traditional hook and nail.

Glenn Vardy, owner of Frames Now, which has four Melbourne stores, says a picture hook capable of supporting 10 kilograms requires just a tiny hole in a plaster wall, and there's no need for it to be inserted into a wall stud.

''Even if it's something really quite large, a hook would work,'' Mr Vardy says. Hooks capable of bearing more weight can be bought for larger pictures (check the rating when buying the hook) but Mr Vardy says two hooks placed about 30 centimetres apart may be a good solution if you are worried about the weight of larger pictures. An additional benefit is this can also help keep the picture hanging straight on the wall.

When it comes to a masonry wall, Mr Vardy advises against using hooks that claw onto the wall using a series of small pins.

Advertisement

He says these don't gain much purchase on the wall and removing them from a rendered surface can result in a substantial amount of render coming off.

''You need to drill that,'' he says, noting that if the wall is exposed brick, the hole for a hook can be drilled into the mortar.

Picture rail systems, in which pictures hang from a wire attached to an S-shaped hook sitting on the rail, are a good solution for those who don't want to mark the wall. Picture rails aren't common in new homes but they can be found in many period properties and Mr Vardy says that, if present, the rails should be used. ''It actually looks wrong if you don't use them,'' he says.

A modern alternative is a gallery tracking system, an aluminium rail screwed into the wall just below the ceiling from which pictures hang by acrylic cable.

''You can hang as many or as few things as you want,'' says Bob Smith, chairman of the Professional Picture Framers Association of Australia and New Zealand.

The systems come in a variety of colours and styles and can be painted. A pack containing a two- metre-long section with a couple of hangers will cost about $60 to $70.

Mr Smith sells the ArtiTEQ gallery tracking system through his business, Classic Framing, in Canberra, and says that although such systems are more often used in commercial or government buildings, more home owners are now buying them.

For those looking for something more secure to ensure their artworks can't be easily removed from the wall, ''security hangers'' could be best. These are brackets screwed into the wall into which the frame is fitted. They start at between $12 to $20 a frame.

''The system is not totally foolproof; it can still be defeated,'' Mr Smith says. ''But most thefts of artworks are just 'grab it off the wall and go'.''

Mr Vardy says products that attach plastic hooks to the wall using adhesive strips are OK for smaller pictures (and might be useful in rental properties where holes are not allowed in the wall), but they can fail over time. ''I discourage anybody from using the adhesive ones,'' he says.

Experts also note that while it is important to ensure a picture is properly fixed to the wall to prevent it falling and being damaged, you should also check that the fittings on the frame itself are capable of bearing the weight of the picture. Mr Vardy says beware of the fittings on cheap frames.

And how to ensure pictures stay straight? It can be a good idea to use masking tape as a guide to help ensure pictures are level when placed in position, and small adhesive felt pads stuck to the bottom of pictures can ensure they remain in place and will also help prevent the picture damaging the wall. The pads also keep the picture slightly off the wall and allow the air to circulate behind it.